The End and the Beginning
by ElegantDreamz
Summary: Everything in this story takes place after the war, and after j.k. would be finished writing. All credits do NOT go to me, they go to Rowling, for she is the wonderful woman who came up with the ideas in the first place. I just modified my own.


Prologue  
  
Harry looked around at the rubble that lay on the ground. He couldn't believe it…everything he had loved…his escape from the Dursleys…the only place other than the Burrow that he could ever call home…gone. He looked out towards the lake, wondering if anyone else remembered the night that Hogwarts was destroyed as vividly as he did in his mind's eye. He stared at the lake for a few moments, got a chill up his spine, and decided he would go look inside and see if he could find anything that could help ease his mind.

As he entered what would have been the entrance hall, he felt a wave a nausea roll through his stomach. The pillars that once stood so strongly and boldly next to the oak front doors were all in a pile on the ground. The lion, serpent, raven, and badger were all gone. Never again would Harry ever be able to see them standing up, or so he thought.

"Harry?" said a soft voice to his right. He spun around and looked at the brilliantly red, mass of hair. "are you okay?" said Ginny as she reached a hand out to touch his arm. "

I'm fine." he replied rather coolly. Ginny knew he wasn't fine, but she was not about to press the matter. Ever since Voldemort and his Death Eaters came and attacked Hogwarts, destroying it completely, Harry had turned into a person who's personality resembled a mouse. He wouldn't talk to anyone about how he felt, he wouldn't talk about Hogwarts, about Hagrid, Dumbledore, Viktor, or anyone else who had died at the hands of Voldemort. Ginny also knew that Harry blamed himself for everyone who had died. She knew he felt responsible for everything, and she deeply wanted to comfort him and hold him in her arms and tell him that it wasn't his fault at all, but she knew she couldn't. No one knew how Ginny secretly felt about Harry, and she liked it that way. She liked that she could keep her secret to herself and not have to worry about him finding out in the wrong way. She knew, that when the time was right, she would reveal her feelings for him, and together they would conquer everything. Somehow she felt it, in her heart, and she thanked the thing called fate that brought Harry into her family seven years ago.

Harry looked to the grand staircase that stood behind him. He gave Ginny's hand a squeeze and walked toward the staircase, made sure that it was still very much intact with the ground, and started to climb it. As he began walking up, he heard footsteps behind him, and about halfway up the staircase he felt a hand grab his arm and he looked at Ginny with surprise. She looked back and then pointed up the stairs, gesturing to continue walking. As he walked up the stairs, he realized that he never wanted Ginny to leave him. He wanted to be able to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, to wipe away her tears when she cried. It was a moment before he realized that he wasn't moving, and that his heart was beating madly against his chest. How could she make him feel like this every time she was near him? Why did this keep happening when she touched him in the friendliest of ways? Did she feel the same thing when he touched her hand, or her arm? He had to find out.

"Ginny?" his voice was raspy and weak, he wanted to tell her everything, but this wasn't the time. So instead he said something else, "thank you for following me, it's nice to have someone here with me."

"Of course! I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that's all. It was odd to see you leave like that, just get up and apparate, and not tell anyone where you were going. I just guessed that you would come here, and I am glad that I was right." she replied as she looked into his bright green eyes. Something was deeply bothering him, she wanted badly to know what it was. As he grabbed her hand a jolt of fire went through her body. Why does that happen every time he touches me? Does he feel it too? She wanted the answers to these questions, but she knew that they would come when the time was right, and this wasn't the right time.

Harry pulled her gently with him as he walked up the stairs, when he reached the first floor landing he looked around and was very surprised to see that it hadn't fallen like the entrance had. He was glad, this was his home, his escape, his everything. Harry knew that Hogwarts was probably never going to be the same, he just wished that everything was fine. He wished Hermione had her time turner still. If she had it, he could go back in time and stop Voldemort from ever coming to Hogwarts. Wait, no he couldn't. He couldn't have stopped Voldemort without Dumbledore being there too. It just wasn't fair.

They kept climbing the staircases while Harry's brain raced with thoughts. All the guilt in the world filled him. He was responsible for all of this, everyone who got killed, everything that got destroyed, all the pain that was caused, it was all his fault. He looked away from Ginny as tears filled his eyes. NO! I will NOT cry! he told himself as he looked at the paintings still on the wall. Ginny looked at Harry from the side, She saw the glitter of tears in his eye, she knew he felt guilty, that he was blaming himself for all of this, and she was going to do something about it.

"Harry, none of this is your fault. It was all his. He was the one who attacked you as a baby, he was the one who has been trying to kill you since you were born, he was the one who caused all of this pain, not you. So please, stop blaming yourself, and don't tell me you're not because I can see the tears in your eyes, the pain on your face, I can feel your guilt." she said as she turned him to look at her. As she said this, tears rolled down his face, he tried to look away before they fell but it was too late.

"Yes it was, all of…this…was my fault. Everything, it…it was all my fault Ginny. And if it wasn't, then WHY does it hurt so much? Why do I feel so guilty about it? He replied as he looked into her chocolate brown eyes.

"Because Harry, I feel the same way, I think it's just the effect he has on people. I just wish I could take your p-pain away f-from y-you." He wanted to hold her, she was crying. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms without thinking. She didn't bother pulling away, this was what she wanted, what he wanted. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and gently rubbed her back. "I'm s-so s-sorry." he said into her hair while the tears streamed down their faces. She didn't say anything back, all she did was stand there, his arms around her, her arms around him, and nod.

Harry didn't know how long they stood there in each others arms, it seemed like he had just hugged her when she began to pull away. She looked up into his face and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Don't you blame yourself for any of this," she whispered as she wrapped her fingers around the hair at the back of his neck, "It's not your fault, I promise. I'm always here for you, okay?" All Harry could do was nod. He cared about her so much. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. He wanted her to be his, and only his.

As these thoughts ran through Harry's head, the same thoughts went through Ginny's. She wanted him to hold her again, to kiss him, to be his, and him to be hers, forever. She wanted to tell him how she felt. It was killing her. As she thought this, she felt Harry's arm wrap around her waist as he pulled her to him. She let out a giggle of glee as she laid her head against his chest. His heart was pounding madly against it, so was hers. She wondered if he could hear it. "Harry?" she whispered as she pulled her head away from his chest.

"Hmmm," he replied.

"Let's go see if we can get into the common room. You want to?" "Yeah, let's go!" he said as he grabbed her hand and walked up the staircase again. It was about five minutes before they reached the seventh floor, it was hard to believe that the fat lady was still there, sitting in her frame, just like she always did. Harry didn't know how they would get into the common room, he didn't know if the password had changed or not. After all, he was Head Boy and Hermione was Head Girl, perhaps it was still the same.

"Password?" said the Fat Lady as Harry and Ginny approached the portrait.

"Primuslunar" replied Harry, he hoped this was still the password. He watched as the portrait swung forward, revealing the passageway that lead to the common room. Together he and Ginny walked through it and entered the circular room where he used to sit in the big comfy chair and wait for Sirius' head to pop into the fire, where Ginny would sit and study Harry's face from across the room, where Ron and Hermione finally found the love they had for each other, where his father had sat once too. He was home.

He looked over at Ginny and was surprised to see that she was watching him from across the room. This was why Harry loved her. The way she looked at him. Harry knew that Ginny had feelings for him, he had for a while now, even though she never told him, he knew they were there. He had feelings for her too, he didn't know if she knew, he hoped she did. Maybe he should tell her. He gathered up his courage and walked over to her. As he did so Ginny nervously played with her ponytail. He didn't bother asking, he just wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips.

Ginny's head spun, she didn't know what happened, other than the fact that a white hot bolt of fire ran through her body as Harry came over to her. The next thing she knew, she was in Harry's arms, sitting on his lap, and kissing him back with all the love she had for him. She didn't let go until she realized that it was growing dark outside. Her mother was probably worried, so they'd better get back.

"Harry, we'd better go, you know mum, she's probably in a right state wondering where we are right now." she said as she stood up, she turned around and walked over to the portrait hole, and felt Harry's hands wrap around her waist.

"Wait a minute," he said as he turned her around to look at her eyes. "Ginny, I don't know if you know this but, I love you." She wasn't expecting this, not at all, but she knew he loved her. He had for a while. All the times she had caught him looking at her, watching her as she studied, read, and even wrote letters. Those letters she was writing when he watched her had been to him, confessing her love for him, but she had never sent them, she had always chickened out at the last minute. "I love you too Harry," she replied, barely audible. A minute later, she knew he had heard her, because he cupped his hand around the bottom of her chin, brought her mouth to his, and kissed her. It was magic, they both felt fire rip through their bodies as their tongues entwined, they both felt each others love for each other. This was perfect, it was what they wanted, what they needed, and they finally had it. This was love.


End file.
